Pennsylvania State Meet

Marlee Starliper, Patrick Anderson Add To Legacies In PA

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Marlee Starliper won her third Pennsylvania cross country title on Saturday and reveled for a moment as she powered through the finish line in a championship record 17:11 at Hershey's Parkview Cross Country Course.

"Being down that final straightaway and how good I felt, It was a really a special moment," Starliper said.

Heavy rains on Thursday caused meet officials to cancel the pre-meet run-through on Friday and alter a piece of course to avoid a flooded section. The change substituted "Poopout Hill" for a different, longer gradual hill. 

But Starliper, 13th the past two years at the Foot Locker national finals, likes the way she's running and how she's feeling as November begins. And Saturday's result indicates she's on target for a big finish to her high school cross country career.

"Going into today, I was sure what to expcect," she said. "I believed I could run 17:20. But with how the course is, it's tough."

Starliper has four weeks until the Foot Locker Northeast regional in New York City. 

"I'm really excited to see how close I can get to the 17-minute barrier at Foot Locker," she said.

Starliper defeated Taryn Parks of Greencastle Antrim, another of the nation's top milers, by 56 seconds. It was the same order, and gap, as 2018.

South Fayette's girls were a little deeper and defeated Starliper's Northern Polar Bears, 62-77.

In the Class AA boys competition, Lewisburg Area beat York on a sixth-runner tiebreaker to claim the team title. The two schools' fifth runners were separated by just 0.8 seconds. 

Dylan Throop of General McLane won the race in 15:57.1.

In a big showdown for the AAA title, Downingtown West beat La Salle College 65-84. DW had advantages at the 3, 4 and 5 spots. 

Patrick Anderson of Mt. Lebanon put together a sensational performance to take the win his second straight title in a meet record time of 15:25.6.

Daniel McGoey of North Allegheny was second in 15:50.8.

Mia Cochran of Moon Area, a sophomore, won the AAA girls race in 17:53 for the second-fastest time of the day. 

North Allegheny scored 137 points to squeeze past State College (152), Hershey (164) and Upper Saint Clair (172).

In Class A, Haley Hamilton from Olsh ran 19:19.9 to win the individual title. St. Joseph's Catholic secured the team title with 93 points. 

In the boys race, Penns Valley teammates Colton Sands and Brendan Colwell, both juniors, went 1-2. Sands clocked 15:56 and beat his teammate by nine seconds. 

Winchester Thurston scored 113 points to get the win.

Team Champions - 

Class AAA - Downingtown West boys 65 points, North Allegheny girls 137 points - RESULTS

Class AA - Lewisburg Area boys 82 points (tiebreaker), South Fayette girls 62 points - RESULTS

Class A - Winchester Thurston boys 113 points, St. Joseph's Catholic girls 93 points - RESULTS